Paddle to the Sea Part 4: Fort Point to Wadsworth Cove, Castine Maine

Basics: Launch Wadsworth Cove, Castine, Sand Beach, Seasonal Portapottie.
Alternative Launch: Fort Point $2 entrance fee, long portage, Outhouses.
High 1:30PM Launch about 10:20 AM, Finish about 1:30PM 12 miles.

For the fourth leg of the paddle we opted to do a back and forth trip. The Penobscot Narrows bridge is the southernmost bridge on the Penobscot River so positioning cars for a one way journey between these two locations would mean a lot more driving than we cared to do. This trip is derived from Ray Wirth’s trip to Castine, and might more properly be called “Paddle from the Sea.” You see, winds were coming from the north, though they were projected to switch to south winds later in the day. Still, rather than being optimistic and starting at Fort Point and heading to Castine, we decided to start in Castine and head north, counting on a continuing north wind to overpower the effects of the incoming tide and aid us on our return journey.

We arrived at Wadsworth Cove at 9:50 AM, and it was still pretty chilly, just 55 degrees F. Wadsworth Cove is named for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s grandfather, General Peleg Wadsworth, who in 1781, after being captured by the English at Thomaston, Maine, escaped confinement in a cell at Fort George, and earned his freedom by wading across the cove.

The morning wind was steady and cooling (which we really didn’t need.) And, honestly this stretch of water looked to be pretty bland. But we’d set an arbitrary goal, so there was no looking back. We loaded our kayaks and headed resolutely north, aiming first for a classic estate set on the Cove.

As we came out of Wadsworth Cove we spotted our first seal of the day, playing in the water. Off to our left was a mysterious white patch in the water. Some sort of foaming caused by currents?

We crossed from Wilson Point, just south of Morse Cove. I was a little worried about crossing to the ledge marked on the chart because I didn’t want to disturb any seals. We’d checked the ledge with our monocular and cameras without seeing any seals, but to be sure we aimed for the lighthouse and not the ledge.

As we got closer we could see that at this point in the tide cycle the ledge was almost completely underwater, but a few hundred feet from Day Marker 2 a solitary seal hung out. The rock beneath it was no longer visible, but it held its head and tail as high above the water as it could reach, trying to get a few more minutes of warmth from the sun. We kept our aim well north of the day marker, and the seal remained poised on a sliver of rock.

Fort Point has a bar of sand which I generally take to be the mouth of the river. Fannie Hardy Eckstorm reported that the Penobscot used that bar to record information about paddling groups as they commuted from their winter community in Old Town to their summer residences on Penobscot Bay. She claimed they never camped there for fear of disturbing these records.

We met a nice couple at the beach. They were looking for Sandy Point, visible across the cove. She was a decedent of someone lost on a boat that sank near Sandy Point, one of dozens of American vessels sunk by the English at the conclusion of the Penobscot Expedition. (Not all by Sandy Point.) He was a treasure hunter. In Penobscot Down East Paradise, Gorham Munson mentions gold hidden by pirates along Sandy Point, so perhaps they would find that treasure as well.

Looking north toward Sandy Point

We were also entertained by several ospreys. Two ospreys had built a nest on a nearby can buoy, and a third osprey seemed to be worrying them. They flew several challenges over the eddy lines, edging each other in flight but never actually contacting.

After lunch, to our surprise, the wind hadn’t changed direction, so we took off with the wind to our backs. The ledge by Day Marker 2 was completely below water, so we had a chance to investigate the granite structure. It was still providing refuge to cormorants, pigeons and one black gull.

While we inspected the marker several seals popped up to investigate us.

A sea gull, lobsterboat and seal converge for a photo opportunity

Our crossing was uneventful; there was almost no boat traffic. We glided back by the same houses we’d passed earlier in the day, admiring again this cute beach house with its nearby cupola.

Whatever currents had created the disturbance in the water had moved on.

As we grew closer the three spires of windmills on Vinalhaven became visible, much high than the rest of the distant island.

Wadsworth Cove was much as we left it, mostly unoccupied on this cool day. A committee of ring bill gulls, the most playful of Maine’s gulls was waiting to greet us.

And because it was nearly high, we took some time to explore a mill pond hidden behind this bridge.

At the rear of the pond we followed Bog Brook to within sight of Route 15, before finishing our journey, back where we’d started several hours earlier loading up our boats and heading home.

Google Earth showing from Verona Island to Wadsworth Cove: The route marked is Ft Point to Wadsworth Cove

Paddle to the Sea Part 3: Verona to Fort Point Maine

Basics: Verona Island landing: Plenty of parking, no facilities (public toilets are available along the harbor in nearby Bucksport)


Fort Point State Park: Stockton Springs $2 per person entrance fees. Pit Toilets. Not technically a launch site and a rather long haul to the water.

High Tide: 10AM. Launch 12:20PM, finish 2:04PM, 8 miles.

What a difference a week makes! Our third leg would be on a bright day with temperatures in the 80’s. Rather than barely seeing the far side of the river, we could easily see four miles ahead. Rather than cringing as we waded in to launch, we welcomed the cooling powers of 50 degree water. This leg would take us from Verona Island to Fort Point in Stockton Springs.

This is the trip I looked forward to the most. I’ve been along Verona Island many times, but generally at peak or ebb tides. Today we’d be riding at mid tide, flying through the Penobscot Narrows. For as I taught Webelos again and again, the Bernoulli Principle states that water does not compress, so where it narrows it flows faster.

It is also one of the most scenic areas, with Fort Knox, the bridges, and Sandy Point, as well as the high banks which caused the Penobscot to once be known as the “Rhine of America.”

We started at the Verona Ramp in a confused back eddy created near the island. A pleasant whiff of crushed wood fiber from the Verso plant confirmed that the wind was from the north. Cormorants and seagulls decorated nearby rocks, but not a single buzzard was in sight.

Soon we were in the downstream current, which didn’t seem too bad by the bridges, but was easily dragging this buoy under.

New to the shore was this cross.

Old to the shore were the bright rocks and high walls. Overhead a flock of young ring bills passed by, one after another, their brownish bodies dark against the sky.

We clung close to Stockton Springs shore. I couldn’t help but look longingly to Odom Ledge and what looked to be several seals there. But pupping season is near, if it’s not already here. Seal pups nurse as few as 14 times, and cannot afford to miss a feeding. Since seals are often nervous in the presence of kayaks we wanted to stay at least a quarter of a mile away.

In place of observing seals, I watched the crowds at the beach. What a rarity, to have such a warm Memorial Day! Sandy Point is a free beach located in Stockton Springs, and a sandy beach to boot. Since it’s in a cove, it does not have the strong currents we enjoyed further off shore. There is plenty of parking, but no facilities.

Just below the beach was an abandoned set of pilings which have become a nesting colony for cormorants. My guide books describe cormorant nests as large and bulky, but they seem pretty basic compared to the more ostentatious nests of eagles and osprey.

Next were the beautiful shore houses of Sandy Point. We pulled out of the current to inspect this solidly constructed boat house, and admire the other houses.

A tall dune marks Sandy Point, atop the dune was a gazebo belonging to Hersey Retreat. That dune is a glacial esker, which has been eroding away, creating the sandy beach along the shore.

Beyond Sandy Point was a deep cove. We intended to follow along the cove shore, but we could hear a seal barking in caution. I didn’t see any ledges on the chart, and the shoreline seemed to be mostly marsh, but the sounds of distress were obvious. Rather than disturb a seal we opted to paddle straight to Fort Point. And what a great ride it was, with the wind to our backs and waves perfectly designed to aid us without requiring too much attention on our part.

At Fort Point folks were also out in abundance. Swimming is not allowed at Fort Point because of the strong currents. We rode those current out and took a few pictures of the lighthouse, before returning upstream to the dock.

It looked like it would be a challenge getting our kayaks to the top of the ramp, so instead we hauled them up the bank, which was also not an easy task.

A final picture of a sailboat at the base of Verona Island

Paddle to the Sea, Part 2 Hampden to Bucksport Maine

High Noon, launch 12:15, finish 3PM 10-11 miles.

On the plus side, it was ten degrees warmer than on our previous trip. And there was not as much wind, though what wind there was came from the east, rather than helping to push us from the rear. But it was the need to continually run the wipers as we positioned a car on Verona Island which made me think this might be a less comfortable run. However Mark wasn’t showing any inclination to back out, so neither would I. It’s been rainy/misty/showering for almost two weeks straight, though it might dissuade us from driving a long distance to paddle, by now we would rather get wet than miss another day.

So shortly after noon we hiked back down to our landing to continue our journey down river. (Again those without a house in Hampden/Orrington might try the Hampden launch or the Orrington Launch )
At the Winterport line the Penobscot makes a sharp bend, and mist had collected along the Winterport shore; a mist full of the scent of the river, dirt from the hillside, pine needles and grasses. There was another sharp bend a mile later, directing us south again.

We passed by the gentle hills, and a marina, and soon a second marina came into view.

 Winterport; where in fine tradition, many of the old sea captains homes faced the river.

The Marina in central Winterport.

Across the river, as we rounded Drachm Point, the Penobscot Narrows Bridge just came into view, and the river widened, the air was now scented with salt.  This was also the section where we spotted our first (and only) seal of the trip.

Next we passed by the mouth of the Marsh river, Mt Waldo is in the background. Right about here salt water begins to overwhelm the fresh and seaweed begins to appear on shore.
These cormorants were gathered on an old pier near Luce Cove.

On we travelled, passing by the buoy formerly known as buoy 39

And coming up on a row of cliffs at Indian Point just above Bucksport.

Here the scent changed again, smelling distinctly of balsam, before we rounded the corner. As Verso came into sight, the scent was more general ground wood, not the distinctive Christmas tinge it had earlier. And the air was warm, which I mistakenly took to be a south wind, until we passed the plant and the air temperature dropped several degrees and once more was salty. I guess the steam from the plant had just been blowing up the river.
A classic Fort Knox and bridge  view.

We were in Bucksport harbor, with its welcoming waterfront; a gazebo, plenty of parking, benches, tables, toilets and a walkway.

A short while later we’d stopped at the Verona Island landing, stage two done!

Plenty of seaweed at the landing, so it is definitely salt water.

An alternative stopping point is Marsh River Landing in Frankfort

Paddle to the Sea

Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling was one of my husband’s favorite books growing up. It tells the story of a small carved Indian in a canoe who makes his way through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

Our journey would be smaller than that, tracing the Penobscot from the head of the tide to Penobscot Bay. Like many trips, it was envisioned on a dreary winter day as a great activity for early spring, four quick day trips leading down the river. Unfortunately as spring wore on it became more and more obvious that we weren’t going to get four days in a row to paddle, instead, we spread the trips out. So, if in our photos you see the leaves get bigger and greener (and eventually turn crimson), it’s not due to the increasing salinity, but rather because it is getting later and later in the season.

Trip 1: Penobscot Salmon Club to our landing in Hampden. 8-9 miles High 11AM, launch 11:30, finish 1:15

The Penobscot Salmon Club allows hand carried boats to be launched there, just below Treats Falls. An alternative launch site, if that location is closed or the water levels unsafe, is beside the Sea Dog in Bangor. There is an outhouse on site and plenty of parking.

We launched on a gray day with a brisk wind from the north. Mark and I had both worn extra clothes in the car, thinking we would shed them before paddling but the chill wind changed our minds. The icy water raced by my feet as I readied my boat to launch from the small beach. I’d been paddling without waterproof shoes for weeks by our house, but this swift moving water reminded me how cold the river remained.

Treats Falls, and Bangor waterworks are shown below. Be sure also to check out the photos in Caution
                     

In no time we were off, racing by the amalgamation of buildings which is Eastern Maine Medical Center. There is an old section

And newer sections

Meanwhile in the river, stealth buoys poked above the water before bowing again to the unceasing force of the currents.
We rode by the railroad bridge, whose center abutment had an iron bar to protect it.

Meanwhile, at the mouth of the Kenduskeag a train crossed a different bridge.

Nearby Public Works was wrestling the Bangor docks into place.

South of the 395 bridge were some of the many young cormorants who will spend breeding season in the Penobscot River, out of the way of the older birds.

Along the shore lay the remnants of some old industries

Nearly hidden (in that photo) is a newer industry, Cianbro.  Across the river in Hampden, Hughes Brothers always reminds me of a model railroad set

With the recent rains, all the streams were running high, so the river was bounded by waterfalls.

Not that the extra water always led to pretty results, the Penobscot is bordered by unstable bluffs of rock and clay. Many trees were passed were leaning far over, and soon would tumble.
Once we passed into Hampden/Orrington, most of the houses were built further back from the river, allowing more natural views.

It was a great ride, when you look at the time recall, much of trip I was taking pictures, so the wind and current gave us a real boost. If you don’t happen to have a house in Orrington or Hampden other locations to pull out are the Hampden Boat Launch (about 4 miles down) or the Orrington Boat Launch (about 11 miles down)(links)

The Penobscot River Keepers  also do a Paddle to the Sea type events every spring, sharing different sections of the river with students hoping to connect them to the rich heritage the river holds.